Its time we began to think about what kind of economy we’re going to have after the coronavirus. What we can’t do is allow the Tory government to introduce a new round of austerity to ‘pay’ for the crisis. And what we must do is ensure that the so-called ‘low skilled’ workers such as shop workers, delivery drivers, bus drivers, care workers, nurses and cleaners who have kept us safe and maintained our economy are properly rewarded for the work they do.
Even in the absence of the virus, in recent times capitalism has shown that it is perfectly capable of bringing about its own demise. This isn't just about the recent collapse of banks, the coming coronavirus 'debt crisis' obscures the real problem we face which is the collapse of ecosystems on which we depend for our survival.
Capitalism is not just the driver of the climate crisis we are in, but also of massive environmental degradation, and loss in biodiversity. It is capital accumulation that is devouring our planet and you cannot use the same mechanisms which are destroying the Earth to save it. What we need to do is bring about economic change before the consequences of climate change become unimaginably destructive to our global society. If we are to save the planet, a post-capitalist economy is inevitable, but we can do it the hard way or the better way, and what we need to do is think about how that economy ought to work.
I wonder how many people know that Karl Marx, was an admirer of capitalism, in the sense that he admired the huge productive capacity of capitalism, which far exceeded any previous economic system. Marx recognized that if the productive capacity of capitalism was harnessed for the good of society, it could provide people with a much better material standard of living than they had ever had before. But he also recognized that, through the mechanism of surplus value, capitalists were able to deprive workers of the wealth that they created, and that there would always be a conflict between capitalists and workers, between the productive forces - workers - and the non-productive forces - capitalists.
Marx understood the massive forces that capitalism could unleash, and Marx and Engels were also much more aware of environmental degradation than they have been given credit for. Engels said:
“Let us not, however, flatter ourselves overmuch on account of our human victories over nature. For each such victory, nature takes its revenge on us. Each victory, it is true, in the first place brings about the results we expected, but in the second and third places it has quite different, unforeseen effects which only too often cancel out the first.”
As far as climate catastrophe is concerned, the left may have led the way in our understanding of the unfolding climate crisis but the 'free' market right have since caught up, and are now pouring their millions into persuading people that climate change is not an issue, through climate change denial, because they are concerned about their profits and the end of the domination of democracies by the market. As I have pointed out before the 'free' market fundamentalists are fighting to deny climate change precisely because they recognize that a genuine and meaningful response the climate change will mean the end of capitalism as we know it. This state of affairs was beautifully summed up in an article by Naomi Klein called 'Capitalism vs the Climate'.
So what would a post-capitalist economy look like? It would not mean the end of the private sector, because the private sector is not the same thing as capitalism - your local hairdresser and corner shop owners are not capitalists - but initially, it would inevitably mean a much bigger role for the state because a collapsing capitalist economy would have to be replaced by extensive nationalisation of banks, transport, and utilities to save them from going under. This is what has already effectively happened with the coronavirus crisis. This is a chance to rebuild our economy on the basis of economic democracy and our aim should be to ensure that post coronavirus most businesses are owned and controlled by the people who work in them.
Energy and food production would have to be regulated as would imports and exports. We would need planning in a democratically controlled economy. This would not simply be an ideological choice but a necessary response to the crisis. We would have to grow as much as our own food as possible and economies would become much more localised. There have already been plans put forward for a green new deal (GND) to reduce carbon emissions and create millions of good green jobs - so we know the way forward. We have the solution in our hands and we must ensure it is implemented.
We are already experiencing problems with climate change in terms of freak weather events, and disruption to agriculture, and we will inevitably soon have difficulties with energy supply. During the coronavirus lockdown, we have also enjoyed the benefits of cleaner air and exercise. We have a choice, we can begin to adjust our economy now, to deal with these problems, or we can carry on with 'business as usual' and inevitably face much worse conditions later. We already have the basis of a GND in Labour’s policy programme. We need to make sure that this remains at the top of our agenda and is the ground on which we fight the next general election. We must work together to create a new kind of economy to deal with possibly the greatest challenge that human beings have ever faced.
